Phoenix coach Willy Wilson commended the Magnolia defense for spoiling what could have been a chance to force overtime. PBA Images
By Ivan Saldajeno

ANTIPOLO--Phoenix head coach Willy Wilson did not put the blame on Tyler Tio for opting to take a short fadeaway jumper with time winding down, even if they were trailing by three against Magnolia on Halloween night.

When asked by Dugout Philippines on how the play should have gone, Wilson said that the play was initially meant for RR Garcia, who was waxing hot in the clutch.

"The play was drawn up for RR to shoot a corner three. I think that's pretty evident," Wilson said.

However, he praised the Hotshots' defense for making sure Garcia would not get a crack at the equalizer, forcing Tio to attempt the mid-range shot that he airballed.

"Very, very well-coached team in Magnolia. They defended it well. We weren't able to get a three-point shot at the corner. Tyler thought that he'd be able to get a quick two, and then we would foul. They were just players trying to make plays at that point after the initial play was stopped," Wilson further said, adding that it was just the breaks of the game that cost them the upset win at the Ynares Center 1 here.

Already slaying a giant earlier in the PBA Philippine Cup in defending champion San Miguel, Phoenix came just close to scoring another upset in Magnolia, whose win put the team back on top of the standings at 4-1 along with three other teams, one of which was Rain Or Shine, which won earlier Friday against Terrafirma.

Held to only 29 points in the first half and down by as much as 14 and seven in the last two minutes, the Fuel Masters fought back into the game with Garcia nailing six straight points, a layup and a four-pointer.

In the end, though, Wilson said that it was the loss that dropped them to 1-4 in the standings that mattered.

"There's never any question about how hard the players played and their desire to win. I'm always happy about that. But obviously, we're judged on losses, and they know that playing hard and fighting back are their job. Winning is the end goal, and we weren't able to do that. We're all disappointed that we weren't able to come away with the win," he continued.

Phoenix is down to its last six games in the elimination round, but those include clashes against the other teams joining them at the bottom of the standings.

This means the outcomes of the said games are crucial in the race for the last spot in the quarterfinals, so Wilson said that the team will look to sustain the positives and improve on the negatives from the Magnolia game.

"We're gonna focus on what we did not so well and what we did well in this game," he further said.

Before they think about the other teams chasing the eighth seed, though, the Fuel Masters will have to deal first with the Elasto Painters on Wednesday night.